Poolside in Palm Springs

Today Palm Springs mourns the loss of one of its most legendary musical stars: the great jazz singer Keely Smith . From here at Poolside, where her platters are spun to this day, we send our condolences to her family and many friends. Ms. Smith was known for such songs as "That Old Black Magic" and "I've Got You Under My Skin," as well as " Palm Springs Jump ." Here she is on The Frank Sinatra Show in 1958 singing, "When Day is Done."   Perhaps our favorite by Ms. Smith and her husband, Louis Prima, are these simple instructions for life:" You gotta jump, jive, and then you wail. You gotta jump, jive, and then you wail. You gotta jump, jive, and then you wail away! " We think that pretty much covers it.

I wish I could share with you the best part of a surprise desert rain shower. Sure, it's nice to see the droplets hit the pool, but that's not the best part. It's also nice to know we can put the irrigation system on pause for a day. But that's not the best part, either. The best part comes just a few minutes after the rain moistens the landscape, when the wet creosote bushes make the air smell burnt. And just for that fleeting moment, we know that the hedges in the desert aren't quite so dusty today.

Congratulations to the city of Palm Springs on the swearing in tonight of the new, truly LGBT city council, a story that even made The New York Times . The voters having spoken, and spoken with pride, new council members Christy Holstege and Lisa Middleton now represent the B and T, respectively. More importantly, they will represent their constituents. Photo by Benson Kua [CC BY-SA 2.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons